Aerospace America

Home
United States
Reston, VA
Aerospace America

The magazine of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)

08/12/2025

IYCMI: Our July-September cover story explores the ways that small drones can help combat tomorrow’s wildfires, from early detection to expanded monitoring.

Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email The increasing frequency and severity of large wildfires like the ones that devastated parts of LA in January have given fresh energy to researchers and companies who believe drones should play a much larger role in firefighting. Jen Kirby looks at the state of....

08/11/2025

Prototypes of surface rovers ordinarily undergo physical tests on Earth to ensure their wheels provide enough traction on their celestial targets. But researchers have discovered that this terrestrially centered practice has been consistently overestimating the grip that rover wheels will actually attain.

Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email NASA’s Perseverance rover photographed its tracks as it traversed up the rim of Mar’s Jezero Crater in late 2024. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Prototypes of surface rovers destined for asteroids, the moon and Mars ordinarily undergo physical tests on sand, or si...

08/08/2025

Q&A: Of all the space-related inventions we rely on in our daily lives, the most transformative might be the GPS satellites orbiting some 20,000 kilometers above Earth. GPS lead architect Brad Parkinson discusses his career path and some of the future applications GPS could make possible.

Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email Bradford Parkinson, lead architect of the Global Positioning System Of all the space-related inventions we rely on in our daily lives, the most transformative might be the constellation of 31 Global Positioning System satellites orbiting some 20,000 kilometers a...

08/08/2025

Commercial drone companies are concerned about the hardware requirements and existing waivers FAA proposed in the 731-page draft rule released Tuesday aimed at providing clarity and guardrails as the industry grows.

Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email Wing is among the handful of drone operators that have begun limited home deliveries in select U.S. states. With its proposed Part 108 regulation, FAA intends to streamline the process for approving such flights. Credit: Wing Commercial drone companies are conce...

08/07/2025

United Launch Alliance is on track to fly nine missions in 2025 and predicts that cadence will sharply increase in the coming years, chief executive Tory Bruno told reporters today.

Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email ULA began stacking the latest Vulcan Centaur rocket in July, in preparation for Tuesday’s national security launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: ULA United Launch Alliance is on track to fly nine missions in 2025 and predicts that cadence will sharply ...

08/07/2025

Just as sweat cools the human body, a proposed transpiration method could help reentering hypersonic vehicles from overheating while eliminating the need for traditional heatshields.

Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email An illustration of NASA’s Orion spacecraft reentering Earth’s atmosphere. Credit: NASA Just as sweat cools the human body, a proposed transpiration method for reentering hypersonic vehicles has shown promise in early testing, according to findings presented ...

08/06/2025

Is the aviation industry's goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 out of reach? Amanda Simpson explores the question in her August column.

Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email The aviation industry is making progress toward its goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, but there are growing concerns it will fall behind as the political winds shift. At the 2021 annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Associa...

08/05/2025

FAA today released the long-awaited draft of a set of requirements that would permit drone operators to routinely fly their aircraft beyond visual line of sight.

Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email California-based Matternet began home delivery in Silicon Valley last year with its M2 drones. Credit: Matternet FAA today released the long-awaited draft of a set of requirements that would permit drone operators to routinely fly their aircraft beyond visual li...

08/05/2025

You have until Sept. 5 to answer the latest AeroPuzzler — True or false and why: On a sunny day, the blue sky overhead results from the same principle of molecular absorption that exoplanet researchers rely on to determine the atmospheric composition of planets too dim to be imaged even by the James Webb Space Telescope.

Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email We ran this question in December 2023 and couldn’t believe no one got it right. So let’s try this again. Q: True or false and why: On a sunny day, the blue sky overhead results from the same principle of molecular absorption that exoplanet researchers rely o...

08/05/2025

Joby Aviation on Monday announced it would purchase the passenger division of Blade Air Mobility, a $125 million deal designed to help speed its own entry into commercial service next year.

Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email One of Joby Aviation’s electric air taxi prototypes flies over the company’s facility in Marina, California, in 2024. Credit: Joby Aviation Electric air taxi developer Joby Aviation announced that it plans to purchase the passenger division of one of the lar...

08/04/2025

When will Dream Chaser fly? NASA has not set a launch target beyond "2025."

Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email The first Dream Chaser underwent multiple tests last year at NASA’s Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio in preparation for its inaugural launch to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Glenn Research Center/Jordan Salkin The debut of Sierra Space’s Dream...

08/01/2025

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A here into a hot, hazy summer sky at 11:43 A.M. Eastern after storm clouds near the pad postponed the initial launch attempt on Thursday.

Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email Crew-11 liftoff as viewed from outside the press site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Paul Brinkmann KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A here into a hot, hazy summer sky at 11:43 A.M. Eastern af...

Address

12700 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 200
Reston, VA

Website

https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Aerospace America posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.